Hipsters and Ironic Christianity

Consider my own hipster credentials. I ride a fixed gear bike (a "fixie") that I built myself. I prefer NPR to K-Love and American Family Radio, and I love old liturgical worship and music. I think Charles Wesley and Sufjan Stevens rock, and I'd rather stab a pencil into my ear than go to a Michael W. Smith concert. I dread going to church on the fourth of July, and I have read Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra cover to cover--for fun. I'm particularly motivated to advocate for adoption and racial reconciliation, and I like to wear knickers (you'd probably call them "capris") when I ride my fixie. Oh, and I used to live on the North Shore of Chicago. That's some hipster cred'.

I'm not all hipster though. I abstain from any alcohol, I don't approve of foul language, and I'm generally a rule follower. I do not want to "stick it to the man," I [heart] capitalism, and I don't break out in hives when I look at a picture of George W. Bush. So, if I am to be considered a hipster, it is only in a very ironic, Republican sort of way.

My "fixie". 70s Peugeot road frame

My point is that I come from a position of appreciation and understanding of the hipster subculture. While there is much to be criticized, there is also much to be commended about hipsters. So, what is a hipster?

What is a Christian hipster?

Hipster is a subculture in America that is almost exclusively young, urban, and white. They're less like the hippies of the 70s and more like the beatniks of the 50's, but they are solidly 21st century thinkers. Hipsters tend to be anti-establishment and anti-cool, which, ironically, is very cool. (There's more on irony below.) Because they are anti-establishment, Christian hipsters often resist the institutionalized evangelical church and especially its political associations with the "religious right." [1] This has driven many hipster evangelicals to less mainstream confessional denominations, such as Lutheranism and Anglicanism. Hipsters are pretty easy to spot in public, because they often dress in shabby chic, skinny jeans or knickers, thick-rimmed glasses, and counter-cultural graphic T-shirts.

They are not to be confused with the "seekers" of the 80s and 90s who flocked to trendy non-denominational mega-churches where the entertainment options are a mile wide but the spirituality, an inch deep. On the contrary, hipsters sometimes sacrifice practicality for a deep spiritual intellectuality. They like to discuss how they think of Jesus when they read T.S. Eliot, and they pontificate over Earl Grey tea about the Platonist implications in C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity.

To sum it up: Christian hipsters love Jesus but aren't too crazy about his followers (at least those in institutional, evangelical Christianity), hence their desire to be called "Christ followers" rather than "Christians." Their postmodern disillusionment also seems to have driven them to seek truth in ancient Christian sources, such as the early Church fathers, but also including the historical world of the Bible itself.

[Take Brett McCracken's excellent online hipster quiz to see if you are one.]

A critique of "ironic" hipster Christianity

I love hipsters, and I have many dear friends who were hipster before it was cool, but I do have my criticisms of the Christian hipster subculture. The focus of this post is on identity, irony, ministry, and rebellion.

The first critique relates to the question of identity. Is the Christian hipster searching for his identity in Christ or in the subculture? It seems to me that it is very often the latter--that they are guilty of doing exactly what they accuse the mainstream evangelical church of doing. Rather than being the Lord who calls his followers into his life, Jesus has been drawn into the culture. Evangelicals allegedly turn Jesus into a white, teetotaling Republican, but hipsters can be accused of turning Jesus into a flashy activist in skinny jeans and Buddy Holly glasses. The church is called, in Scripture, to "attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13)

My second critique involves the fascination with irony. This reminds me of an example that I read in a recent article about ironic hipster racism, in which the hipster, who is so not racist that he makes racist jokes or jokingly introduces his black friend as his "black friend." (FYI: I doubt that the broader black culture is amused.) Likewise, some Christian hipsters have advocated the use of occasional coarse language (cussing) as an expression of a trust in God's grace as well as a means of shocking the establishment. In the end it just seems like a bit of rationalizing and self-deception that puts a righteous cloak over sinful activity. Doing sinful or questionable things simply to express how righteous you are is immature at best and diabolical at its worst. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commands." (John 14:15) The Apostle Paul wrote, "Shall we go on sinning that grace may increase? By no means!" (Romans 6:1-2) The Church is the Bride of Christ, and it seems the Bride is going on dates with other men just to prove how devoted she is to her husband. That's asinine and immature. If hipsters want to be taken seriously as a culturally significant force, they need to drop the sophomoric fascination with irony.

My third critique relates to motivation for ministry. One of the great things that I appreciate about the hipster culture is its attention to long-neglected social justice issues, which mainstream evangelicals have too often neglected due to their alleged associations with liberal activism. Hipsters draw attention to hot topic issues like the international sex trade, lingering racial inequality, environmental stewardship, and corporate greed. The question that arises, however, is what motivates the activism? Is it motivated by a love of God and neighbor, or is it motivated by a desire to shock the old people at church with how cutting-edge they are? [2] Ministry that is motivated by a desire to shock is shallow and self-centered; whereas, ministry that is motivated by love is deep and leads to discipleship. It means really getting to know and love people. Jesus commanded his disciples to go out and "make disciples of all the nations." (Matthew 28:19) That is much deeper than superficial activism. It is of little lasting value to advocate for the poor if you don't actually know anyone who is poor--or to love drug addicts, but never get your hands dirty by walking through discipleship with one. Real ministry is not glamorous and cool--it is often difficult, messy, and under-appreciated by those receiving it. And, the most righteous ministry is done in secret (Matthew 6:1-18). But, ministry is not only for burdened people; it is also for Jesus (Matthew 25:37-40).

Finally, perhaps because I am a rule follower by nature, I do not see the warrant for the de facto rebellion against the religious establishment. This sort of normative rebellion is dangerous and disorderly. While there may be very real problems in established evangelicalism, to radically rebel against it is like choosing to burn down the house and start over just because you have a leaky pipe. Hipsters, with their aesthetic sensibilities about the beauty of God's orderly creation ought to appreciate the fact that God does ordain a certain level of order in his Church. This order can only be maintained if there is authoritative leadership holding it all together. Pastors, teachers, elders, prophets, and apostles have all been ordained by God to serve as our shepherds. To needlessly resist the shepherd is to resist the one who hired him. To say that Jesus is the only shepherd you need is to ignore God's Word on the matter. (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2)

A call to mature Christianity for hipsters (not hipster Christianity)

Christianity has historically been an urban religion. In fact, the word "pagan" means "rural." What we call paganism today has generally been a phenomenon among rural peoples. Today, this trend may be reversing, and the typical small town evangelical Christian has almost no voice in New York, Chicago, or L.A., but hipsters are still culturally relevant to urban societies. They still have a voice in the city, and it is my prayer that their unique voice for the Gospel will not be muzzled by immature fascination with the inane elements of hipsterism, such as appearance, irony, self-promotion, and rebellion. At least within the urban white populations, hipsters have a potential to be a great penetrating force for the Gospel. [3]

Also, Christian hipsters, like the Reformation-era Christian humanists (Erasmus, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin) are returning to an appreciation for the life of the mind. It is a culture with great potential for devotional intellectuality--something, which was abandoned by evangelicals in the 20th century. I'm happy that hipsters are exhorting us to love God with all of our mind again. [4]

A Christian exhortation

All Christians must encourage one another toward good works in the Kingdom. In Mark 9:38-41, the disciple John tells Jesus, "we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." Jesus' reply? "Do not stop him...for whoever is not against us is for us." (NIV) Traditional evangelicals and hipster Christians need to filter their respective cultures through God's Word and move on toward maturity. If anything remains after the sifting, they should use it for Kingdom work and respect the gifts that the other has. Defining ourselves each in opposition to the other does nothing but divide God's house.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] The day that a hipster pledges the Christian and American flags in a 4th of July church service is the day Jesus returns.
[2] Another example that has come up recently is the publication of a book on marriage (entitled Real Marriage) by hipster pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. The portion of his book on sex in marriage shockingly graphic, leading many to ask, Is Driscoll trying to be shocking for its own sake or really trying to help people with their marriages?
[3] My guess is that their influence is negligible within urban minority communities.
[4] To be clear, there is a very strong movement among traditional evangelicals to return to a disciplined mind, as well. I don't mean to suggest that hipsters get all the credit.

-------------------------

Below is a brief interview with Brett McCracken, author of Hipster Christianity.

"The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living"

Two of the more gratifying statements that students have ever said to me as their teacher are: "Mr. Mooney, because of your hermeneutics class, I can't stand bad sermons anymore." and "Mr. Mooney, thanks to your worldview class, I can't just watch movies anymore [without analyzing everything]."
What I take these students to mean is that, now that they have been given the tools and awareness of analysis, they can't easily turn off the function. Movies with conflicting and inconsistent worldviews or speakers who take Bible verses grossly out of context now drive them crazy. I say, "Good."
I don't mean that I take great joy in the ruining the simple pleasure of vegging out in front of a mindless movie, but I believe that is a small price to pay for the gift of a fully engaged mind. Nor do I want to create arrogant little critics who pick apart their pastors who are doing the best they can to serve the Lord faithfully in the pulpit. (Believe it or not, pastors have much more to do in a given week than prepare a flawless, air-tight sermon. Be gracious.) But, being equipped with even the simplest tools for our search for truth has a way of raising our standards.

Socrates

bust of Socrates by Lysippos (photo by Eric Gaba)

This reminds me of the ancient philosopher Socrates (5th c. BC). Socrates was something of a strange man who walked around his native Athens asking his fellow citizens simple but penetrating questions that were meant to expose assumptions and challenge them. What is justice? How do you know what is pious? Why do you believe that? This sort of inquisitive behavior came to be considered subversive, and Socrates was charged with sedition for undermining Athenian society. As a coworker said to me recently, "you've gone from convictin' to meddlin'." Socrates was meddling. He stood before his judges and, rather than repent of his ways, Socrates defiantly declared, "The unexamined life is not worth living." His stubbornness led to his not living indeed, because he was sentenced to embibe hemlock. Socrates was, by no means, a follower of the one true God of the Scriptures, but his relentless quest for truth was praiseworthy, even if deadly.

The Christian approach

Of  course, Jesus Christ and the Scriptures ought to be our ethical guide--not Socrates. The Apostle Paul wrote, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV) Speaking of his ministry, Paul states that he listens to, evaluates, and challenges the arguments of the worldly philosophies and worldviews around him. This is all done for the purpose of "tak[ing] captive every thought...to Christ." 

Christians probably spend too many hours with their minds turned off, carelessly consuming the arts and ideas of the world without a critical filter. I'm not advocating separatism and censorship, but cultural engagement. I believe it is wiser to train Christians to evaluate films with non-Christian content than to try to persuade them to never watch them. (For an example of this, see my post on "Pumped Up Kicks".) 
 

Questions for discussion (just as Socrates would do): 

Was Socrates right? Is the unexamined life really not worth living?
Does a life of critical thinking make one happier than a life without it?
Would you have chosen death over a life of being forced to accept what the world tells you to believe?